Albert
by Firebird9
Summary: Something a little different from my usual stuff. Tommy Raines' parents don't believe Albert is real. But then people start dying. Complete.
1. The Prologue

**Albert**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI, The Sixth Sense, or any other work which may bear a resemblance, intentional or otherwise, to this work.

**Rating:** T

**A/N: **This is something a bit different from my usual shippy stuff. Still a work in progress, so feedback would be very welcome – I want to know if I should continue with this. Also, I have a flatmate called Alberto. He is a very nice guy and bears absolutely no resemblance whatsoever to 'Albert'.

**Chapter 1: The Prologue**

"Tommy!"

"Yes mom?"

"What the hell happened to my new rug?"

"It wasn't me, mom. It was Albert."

"Albert your imaginary friend Albert?"

"Yeah."

"Tommy, this has got to stop. I swear, that 'friend' of yours is outta control."

"I know, mom. I asked him to stop but he won't listen."

"Go to your room."

"But, mom-"

"Just go."

**CSI CSI CSI**

"Tommy!"

"Yes mom?"

"How could you? How could you put Fluffy in the oven? If I hadn't come in here the gas would've killed her!"

"It wasn't me, mom. It was Albert."

"Albert is not real. This has gone too far, Tommy."

"I'm sorry, mom. I tried-"

"Shut up!"

"But mom-"

"I don't want to hear any more. Just get out of my sight."

"But mom-"

"I said go!"

**CSI CSI CSI**

"It's gone too far, Steve. This whole thing has gotten totally out of control."

"You're right honey, but what can we do? You've talked to him, I've talked to him, we've tried every punishment we can think of."

"What about corporal punishment?"

"You mean smack him? I thought we agreed we weren't going to raise our kids like that."

"I know Steve, but I don't know what else to do. He has to be stopped. What if he does something to the baby?"

"Amy? Karen, that's ridiculous. Tommy would never hurt-"

"He put Fluffy in the oven, Steve. He turned on the gas. If I hadn't heard her meowing-"

"Okay, okay. Look, maybe we should try something else. I've been thinking: maybe a psychologist could help."

"A psychologist? He's not crazy Steve."

"He tried to gas the cat and claimed it was his imaginary friend. You can't tell me that's normal. C'mon Karen. What have we got to lose?"


	2. The Witnesses

**Albert**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI, The Sixth Sense, or any other work which may bear a resemblance, intentional or otherwise, to this work.

**Rating:** T

**A/N: **This I have a flatmate called Alberto. He is a very nice guy and bears absolutely no resemblance whatsoever to 'Albert'.

**Chapter 2: The Witness**

"Okay, Brass, what's the story?"

"Vic's name is Dr. Evelyn Ross. She's a child psychologist. She had a session this evening with –" Brass checked his notepad "- Tommy Raines, aged six. It was supposed to finish at 7:30pm.

"At 7:45pm the secretary, Anita Messinger, knocked on the door to remind Dr. Ross that the session was over. Receiving no reply, she entered the room to find Dr. Ross lying dead on the floor and the boy, Tommy, huddled in a chair on the other side of the room."

"Where's the boy now?"

"He's with his mother in the waiting room. Miss Messinger is being interviewed by PD."

"Okay." Grissom turned to Sara. "Sara, do you want to talk to the witnesses and I'll start processing the scene?"

Sara nodded and pulled out her notebook. "Okay."

Grissom left her to it and headed to the office where the murder had taken place.

"Hey David."

"Hey Grissom," the coroner's assistant replied.

"What do you have for me?"

"Okay." They both crouched beside the vic. "Cause of death was multiple stab wounds to the chest. PD checked both witnesses for weapons, but no luck. We'll have to perform an autopsy, but I'd say you're looking for a knife of some kind, probably one with an unusually thick blade."

"Hmmm." Grissom glanced around the room. "If the weapon wasn't on either of the suspects then there's a chance it may still be here. Time of death?"

"Given the body temperature, you're looking at between one and two hours ago."

"Which puts it squarely in the middle of Tommy's session."

"Is the boy a suspect? Given the position of the body and the angle of the wounds, I'd say she was standing up when she was stabbed. How would a six-year-old reach that high?"

"He couldn't. The boy's a witness. Sara's with him now."

"Okay." David stood up. "All yours. Once you're done we'll bag it and tag it and take it back to the lab."

Once he was alone, Grissom looked around the room. Photograph the body and the scene, search for a weapon, check for prints. Unless…

His eyes were drawn to a pair of scissors sticking out of a pot of pens and pencils on the desk. Making a detour around the body, he snapped several photographs for evidence, then picked them up, careful not to damage any fingerprint evidence. They were bloody to the hilt.

"Weapon of opportunity," he muttered.

**CSI CSI CSI**

"And you're certain you didn't see anyone enter or leave the building during the time that Dr. Ross was murdered?" Sara asked a tearful Anita Messinger.

"Yes. I told you, Ms. Sidle, I saw Evelyn at 6:30 when her previous client left. Tommy went straight in and Mrs. Raines went to get a cup of coffee. I was at my desk doing paperwork the whole time, and no-one came in until Mrs. Raines came back at about 7:15.

"Sometimes Evelyn runs a little over time, especially on the last session of the day, and it's usually when something big is coming out, so I didn't want to disturb her. When it got to about quarter of eight I went in to remind her and-" her voice broke. "I'm sorry, I just can't help it."

"That's okay," Sara told her. "You've been really helpful. If you think of anything else, give us a call."

Anita nodded. "Okay."

"If you could go with this officer, we'll need your fingerprints for comparison, and then you can go."

"You can't think that I-"

"No," Sara cut her off, although that was precisely what she was thinking. "It's standard procedure to fingerprint everyone who had access to a crime-scene for elimination purposes."

"Okay."

The officer stepped forward. "If you'll come this way, ma'am."

Sara was about to go and talk to Tommy when Grissom came out of the office.

"Sara, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure. What do you have?"

Grissom waved her into a corner and spoke in a low voice so that they wouldn't be overheard.

"Dr. Ross was stabbed to death with a pair of scissors from her desk. The angle of the wounds makes it unlikely that Tommy was responsible."

Sara nodded. "Apart from Tommy, Anita Messinger was alone with the victim for approximately forty-five minutes, from just after 6:30pm to about 7:15."

"I checked the window. There's no sign of forced entry, so the killer almost certainly entered through the door."

"Okay. I'll talk to Tommy then check the exterior."

The little boy was sitting in a waiting-room chair, his legs dangling. He had short brown hair and scuffed sneakers. His mother was crouched in front of him. She looked up at Sara's approach, but Tommy continued staring at his hands.

"Hi Tommy."

"It wasn't me," the little boy said.

"I know that, honey." Sara crouched down beside his mother.

"It was Albert."

"Who?"

"Albert," his mother said through gritted teeth, "is the reason why we're here. He's Tommy's imaginary friend."

"He's not imaginary." Tommy looked up for the first time. His eyes, Sara noted, were as brown as hers. "He killed Dr. Ross."

Karen Raines stood up abruptly, throwing her hands up in a gesture of despair.

"I give up!" she cried. "That's it Tommy; I give up!" She was shaking and there were tears in her eyes. Her son watched as an officer led his mother away.

"She doesn't believe me," he said.

**CSI CSI CSI**

"It was really creepy." Sara was sitting in the break-room, cradling a cup of coffee in her hands. For some reason, she felt cold.

Nick, also on a break, was sitting opposite her.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, like something out of a horror movie. You know, that one with Bruce Willis and that kid: 'I see dead people'?"

"The Sixth Sense? Are you serious?"

"Yeah. I know it sounds crazy, but it totally freaked me out."

"What'd Grissom say?"

"He was processing the scene. You know Grissom; he'd think I was being ridiculous." Nick raised an eyebrow. "I'm serious, Nick. There is something not right about that kid."

"Hey, I believe you." He looked at his watch. "Break's over. Catch you later." He left.

"'I believe you.' Sure you do," Sara muttered to his departing back.

**CSI CSI CSI**

"The only prints on the weapon are the vic's."

"There is no way she committed suicide."

"I'm aware of that." Sara hated it when Grissom used that tone of voice. "I'm saying that I found no other prints on the scissors."

"The secretary?"

"Nope."

"That is really bizarre."

"Tell me about it. You said there was no blood on either of the witnesses?"

"Not a drop."

"The killer would have been covered."

"Yeah."


	3. The Tape

**Albert**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI, nor any other works which may bear a resemblance, intentional or otherwise, to this work.

**Rating:** T

**A/N:** I have a flatmate called Alberto. He is a very nice guy, and bears absolutely no resemblance whatsoever to 'Albert'.

**Chapter 3: The Tape**

Sara turned the tape over in her hands. Dr. Ross' files on Tommy Raines had been released to CSI early on the day following the murder. Sara had already read the notes and was now ready to listen to the tape of the psychologist's first interview with Tommy. It was dated two weeks prior to the murder.

"Hi Tommy."

"Hi."

"Do you know why you're here?"

"Yes."

"Why are you here?"

"Mommy and daddy want Albert to go away."

"Who's Albert?"

"He's invisible. Only I can see him."

"Okay. Tell me a little more about Albert."

"He only comes sometimes. He does bad things. He likes to hurt people."

"Do you like to hurt people, Tommy?"

"No."

"Is Albert your friend?"

"No." A pause. "He scares me."

"He scares you?"

"Yeah."

"Do you want Albert to go away?"

"Yes."

"Okay. How can we make Albert go away?"

"We can't."

"We can't?"

"No. He'll stay forever."

"How do you know that?"

"He told me."

"Okay." Pause. "Do you want to draw a picture?"

The rest of the interview followed on in that vein. Sara looked at the picture that Tommy had drawn that day. She didn't need a psychologist to interpret it for her.

A little boy with brown hair and a sad face was standing in the middle of the page. On one side were two tall grown-ups with angry faces. On the other side was a pink bundle that looked like a baby, and she recalled from the file that Tommy had a baby sister.

The space between the boy and the other people, and around them as well, was entirely filled with jagged black scribble. Most disturbing of all was the way the baby was almost obliterated by a combination of this and thick red marks the colour of blood.

Sara sighed and set the picture aside, inserting tape number two into the player.

"Hi Tommy."

"Hi Dr. Ross."

"You know you can call me Evie."

"Hi Evie."

"How are you this evening?"

"I'm okay."

"You're okay? Are you sure?" Pause. "Your mother told me you took the fish out of the neighbours' pond and let them die. Is that true?"

"No. It was Albert."

"Okay. Why did Albert take the fish out of the pond?"

"To watch them die."

"Albert wanted the fish to die?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I don't know. He thought it was fun."

"Did you think it was fun?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I don't want things to die."

"Has anything else died, Tommy?"

- unintelligible mumble -

"I'm sorry, Tommy, I didn't catch that."

"I said 'not yet'."

"Not yet? Tommy, that's a very scary thing to say."

"I know. I'm scared too."

He was, too. Sara could hear it in his voice. Whatever the truth was, the child genuinely believed in Albert, and believed that he was a killer.

Having listened to the second tape she was ready to move on to the third, which of course wasn't with the file. Grissom had removed it from the scene the night before, marking it as a top priority as a possible 'third witness' to the murder, but when they had played it there had been nothing but static.

They had handed it over to Archie in the hope that he could do something with it, and Sara decided to go and see whether he'd had any luck with his analysis.

"That's the weird thing," Archie told her. "There doesn't seem to be any problem with the tape or the recorder, but all we hear is static. It was only when I worked down to the very bottom of the frequency spectrum that I got anything, and even that was faint."

He leaned over and pressed some keys on the computer.

"I've cleaned it up the best I can. Have a listen."

It was an impossibly deep voice, chanting in a guttural language that Sara didn't recognize. For some reason, it sent chills through her body.

"What language is that?"

"God knows. I've run it forward and backwards, sent samples to the linguistic experts. No-one can place it."

"Turn it off."

"Yeah, it creeps me out too."


	4. The Parents

**Albert**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI, nor any other works which may bear a resemblance, intentional or otherwise, to this work.

**Rating:** T

**A/N:** I have a flatmate called Alberto. He is a very nice guy, and bears absolutely no resemblance whatsoever to 'Albert'.

**Chapter 4: The Parents**

"Thanks for taking the time to see me, Mrs. Raines. How's Tommy doing?"

It was the second day following the murder, and Sara was at the Raines' house.

"He won't talk to me. He just keeps drawing pictures, mostly of the murder."

"Have you considered finding another therapist?"

Karen nodded. "It's a bit difficult just now, though. All Dr. Ross' former patients are looking for someone."

"Of course. Can you tell me a bit about Albert? About when the problems started?"

The two women were sitting at the table in the Raines' kitchen.

"Of course," Karen replied. "Just let me check on Amy."

She was back a few moments later. "I never trust those baby monitors," she explained apologetically. "Now, let's see. I suppose Albert first appeared about a year ago. At first it was just little things; spillages, breakages. About the time Amy was born it started to get worse.

"At first, Steve and I thought it was attention-seeking, jealousy of the new baby, so we made more time for Tommy, gave him a few more privileges, a few more responsibilities. But it kept getting worse.

"A few weeks ago, I came in and found the cat in the oven. The gas had been turned on… Now she won't even come in the house anymore. I have to put her food out in the yard. That was when we decided that we needed professional help." She sighed.

"We don't believe that a child of Tommy's age would be capable of inflicting the injuries that killed Dr. Ross, Mrs. Raines."

"Don't you?" She stared into space and gave another sigh. "I'm starting to think he's capable of anything."

"I'd like to talk to your husband as well, if that's possible?"

"Of course. He's at work, but I can give you directions to his office if you'd like."

"Thank you." Sara took a deep breath. What she had to say next would be difficult. "We would also like to have a social worker talk with Tommy."

Karen looked startled, then slumped. "Sure. Why not?"


	5. Another Murder

**Albert**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI, nor any other works which may bear a resemblance, intentional or otherwise, to this work.

**Rating:** T

**A/N:** I have a flatmate called Alberto. He is a very nice guy, and bears absolutely no resemblance whatsoever to 'Albert'.

**Chapter 5: Another Murder**

"So the social worker says there's no sign of abuse. The parents don't even smack Tommy, but the kid is totally disturbed, you can tell."

A week had now passed since the murder of Dr. Ross, and the investigation had stalled. Sara was sitting in the break-room, talking to Catherine.

"There's no evidence against the secretary?"

"Nothing. We've checked patients, former patients, parents. We had a couple of leads, but they didn't pan out."

"Nick said this case was getting to you?"

"Yeah, but not the way they usually do, you know? This one is just freaking me out."

"A lot of kids have imaginary friends."

"Did Lindsay?"

"Yeah, for a while. Lilly. She lived under the bed and would only eat cookies and ice-cream."

"She ever scare you?"

"Of course not," Catherine was scornful at the idea. "She was imaginary. Lindsay outgrew her, as kids do."

"Tommy's supposed to start kindergarten this fall."

"Well, there you go then. He'll forget all about Albert once he makes some real friends."

"What if he doesn't?"

Sara's phone rang before Catherine could answer.

"Grissom, what's up?" She was quiet for a moment, listening to their boss. "What? Okay, I'll be right there." She hung up and turned to Catherine, looking shocked. "There's been a murder at the Raines' house."

Half an hour earlier, while Karen, Steve and Tommy were watching TV, Karen had decided to check on Amy. She had emerged pale and shaking and had flung herself at Tommy, hitting him for the first time in his life.

"How could you? How could you?" She was sobbing.

"Mom!"

"Karen!" Steve seized his distraught wife around the waist and pulled her away. "Karen, stop it! Tell me what's happened!"

She turned to face her husband. "He killed her. Amy's dead, Steve: he killed her."

"No, Mom, I didn't, I swear!" Tommy was crying too.

His father looked at him coldly. "Go to your room."

"But dad-"

"I said go!" Tommy went. "We have to call the cops."

Now Brass was briefing Sara and Grissom.

"The baby wasn't even a year old. The mother found her in her cot. She'd been smothered with a pillow."

"Normally in a case like this the mother would be the prime suspect," Grissom observed.

"Yeah. She claims it was the son, the son claims it was his imaginary friend. Or it could have been the father." Brass sighed. "Child services is with the kid."

"Sara, you interviewed the Raines'. What did you make of Mrs. Raines?"

"She's at the end of her tether, but it's all directed at Tommy, not the baby. If it was Tommy's body in there I'd say definitely the mother. But the baby? I'm not so sure."

"Children Tommy's age have smothered infant siblings before," Grissom observed.

"Do you want me to talk to the witnesses again?" Sara asked.

"Thanks. We might as well be consistent."


	6. The First Conversation

**Albert**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI, nor any other works which may bear a resemblance, intentional or otherwise, to this work.

**Rating:** T

**A/N:** I have a flatmate called Alberto. He is a very nice guy, and bears absolutely no resemblance whatsoever to 'Albert'.

**Chapter 6: The First Conversation**

"So, how did it go with the family?" Grissom asked.

"Mon's distraught, Dad's not much better. As for Tommy, he's still maintaining it was Albert. How's the evidence looking?"

Grissom sighed. "I can place all three of them in the baby's room, but there's nothing probative. It could have been any of them."

"Or none of them." Grissom raised an eyebrow, and she changed what she was going to say. "What if the baby's death was accidental? The mother says she removed the pillow: we only have her word for it that it was ever there." She wished she could believe it.

"Oh. Yes." Grissom nodded. "That's another possibility."

"They're sending Tommy to stay with an aunt across town for a while."

Grissom nodded. "Given what you've told me about the state of the mother, I would say that was wise."

Sara was logging evidence from Amy Raines' death when an instant message popped up on her computer. She frowned: she didn't think she had been logged in. Perhaps there was a glitch in the computer.

**A666:** Hello Sara

**Sidleways:** Who is this?

**A666:** You know who this is.

**Sidleways:** ?

**A666:** This is Albert.

**Sidleways:** Who?

**A666:** Tommy's friend.

**Sidleways:** Albert isn't real.

**A666:** Isn't he?

**A666:** Are you sure, Sara?

**Sidleways:** Okay, who is this? Is this a joke?

**A666:** This is not a joke.

**A666:** Goodbye Sara.

Suddenly, the screen went blank.

"Dammit!"

It was only when she reached out to press the reset button that Sara realized that her hands were shaking. She shook her head. A joke. It had to be. Probably Nick or Greg – or both – trying to scare her. Deep down inside, she knew she didn't believe it.


	7. Another Attack

**Albert**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI, nor any other works which may bear a resemblance, intentional or otherwise, to this work.

**Rating:** T

**A/N:** I have a flatmate called Alberto. He is a very nice guy, and bears absolutely no resemblance whatsoever to 'Albert'.

**Chapter 7: Another Attack**

"Sara?"

Grissom stuck his head around the door of the layout room. Three nights had passed since her conversation with 'A666', and Sara had almost managed to convince herself that it was nothing more than a sick joke by an as-yet-unidentified prankster.

"Yeah?

"We just got a call from PD. Someone attacked Tommy Raines' aunt at her house earlier today."

"Is she okay?"

"She might not make it."

Sara dreaded the answer to her next question. "Tommy?"

"Is with Child Services. He's fine. We need to go over to the aunt's residence."

There was a lot of blood. Tommy's aunt, Susan Johnson, lived alone in a three-bedroom suburban house. She had been struck several times with a heavy stone ornament in the shape of a nymph carrying a jar of water. It was a miracle that she had survived the attack.

They processed the scene, producing precisely nothing.

"We need to talk to Tommy," Grissom said.

Sara felt her heart sink. "Can you do it?"

Grissom frowned slightly. "Sara, are you okay?"

"Sure." Her smile felt unnatural. "I just don't feel like I ever get anywhere with him, you know? I'll head over to the hospital and check on Ms. Johnson."

Grissom nodded, obviously not satisfied by her explanation, but willing to let it go.

She arrived at the hospital to find Susan Johnson still lying unconscious in her hospital bed. She had three broken ribs, a hairline fracture of her skull, and severe bruising to her face and hands. Sara shuddered at the sight of her injuries. There was no way that they were the work of a child.

Susan's sister, Karen, was sitting on the other side of the bed.

"This is my fault," she said without looking up. "Tommy did this. It's my fault for leaving him with her."

"Mrs. Raines-"

"Do you believe in the devil, Ms. Sidle?" Karen Raines suddenly raised her head to stare intensely at Sara.

"The devil?" Sara repeated. "No, I don't think so. I believe humans are our own devils. Do you believe in the devil, Mrs. Raines?"

A pause. "I never used to."


	8. The Second Conversation

**Albert**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI, nor any other works which may bear a resemblance, intentional or otherwise, to this work.

**Rating:** T

**A/N:** I have a flatmate called Alberto. He is a very nice guy, and bears absolutely no resemblance whatsoever to 'Albert'.

**Chapter 8: The Second Conversation**

Sara's blood ran cold when the message popped up on her computer as she logged evidence from the Susan Johnson case.

**A666:** Hello Sara.

She had confronted both Nick and Greg after the last conversation, and both had denied any knowledge of it. Nick had been so concerned by her distress that he had taken her out for a drink after work in an effort to calm her down and cheer her up.

Now she screwed up her courage and typed a reply.

**Sidleways:** Who are you?

**A666:** Can't you guess?

**Sidleways:** Tell me.

**A666:** I am the reason that your kind know fear.

**Sidleways:** That doesn't tell me much.

**A666:** Doesn't it? You're afraid Sara.

**Sidleways:** That won't stop me from catching you.

**A666:** Won't it?

**A666:** Goodbye Sara.

The computer died again, and this time she abandoned it and all but bolted from the room. As she did so, she literally ran straight into someone and, startled, gave a small scream.

"Sara?"

She looked up into Grissom's slightly puzzled gaze.

"Are you alright?"

She was tempted to confide, but she wasn't sure how he'd take it if she said 'I think Albert is real and he's some kind of evil entity, and he's been invading my computer.'

Instead, she said "Fine."

He didn't look convinced.

"Why don't you take a break?" he suggested kindly. "Go to Starbucks and get a coffee or something."

Normally she would have resented being told to take a break, but tonight she would welcome the bright lights and normality of a crowded coffee-shop.

"What did Tommy say?" she asked first, knowing that Grissom must have just returned from talking to the child.

"He said Albert did it."

Sara nodded. "That's what I thought."


	9. The Aunt's Story

**Albert**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI, nor any other works which may bear a resemblance, intentional or otherwise, to this work.

**Rating:** T

**A/N:** I have a flatmate called Alberto. He is a very nice guy, and bears absolutely no resemblance whatsoever to 'Albert'.

**Chapter 9: The Aunt's Story**

"Sara, I'd like you to go and talk to Tommy Raines again tonight."

"What?" It was the start of shift, and Grissom was handing out assignments.

"It's been three days. The psychologist at Child Services says it's possible that he's remembering more. He won't talk to her but she thinks he might talk to a 'police officer'. It will be a private interview," he added, which explained why he couldn't do it. Child Services didn't like leaving their charges alone with unknown men.

Sara slumped, seeing no way out. "Okay."

Grissom's phone rang while he and Nick were packing away the evidence from a drive-by shooting in preparation for transportation to the lab.

"Gil Grissom."

"Mr. Grissom, this is Nurse Sanchez at Las Vegas General. A recent attempted murder victim, Susan Johnson, has just regained consciousness and has indicated that she would like to talk with someone about her attacker. She seems very anxious about it."

"Okay, thank you. I'll be there as soon as I can." He hung up. "Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"I may have a break on another case. Can you head back to the lab and start processing this lot?"

"Sure thing Gris."

Susan Johnson's face was a swollen rainbow of bruises.

"You're from the police?" she asked Grissom in a strained whisper.

"I'm from the Las Vegas Crime Lab," he replied. "We're trying to find your attacker."

"Tommy's friend."

"You mean Albert?" Grissom shook his head. "How is that possible? He isn't real."

Susan shook her head slightly. "Not imaginary," she whispered. "He's real. Evil." She swallowed, and tried again. "Demon, devil. I don't know. Anyone near Tommy is in danger. I prayed. Slowed it down. We need a priest." A pause. "Exorcise."

"You want me to get a priest, find Tommy, and have him exorcised?"

She nodded painfully.

"Ms. Johnson, I accept that this must have been a very traumatic experience for you, but-"

"Fingerprints." She cut him off. "On the statue, no fingerprints, right? No evidence."

Grissom's blood ran cold as he realized that she was right. The statue, like the scissors, had yielded no prints. In fact, he had two murders and an attempted murder, all without a shred of evidence except for that crazy tape. And Tommy – and Albert – were the only common denominators.

And now Sara was alone with Tommy.

He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, trying to get enough air to speak.

"I have to go," he managed.


	10. The Confrontation

**Albert**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI, nor any other works which may bear a resemblance, intentional or otherwise, to this work.

**Rating:** T

**A/N:** I have a flatmate called Alberto. He is a very nice guy, and bears absolutely no resemblance whatsoever to 'Albert'.

**Chapter 10: The Confrontation**

"Tommy, Dr. Yuan said that you might be able to tell me some more about who hurt your aunt?"

Tommy shook his head. "I can't."

"Was it Albert?"

The child stared at her. "You believe me?"

Sara nodded slowly. "Yes, I believe you. I believe we need to stop Albert."

Tommy started to say something, but instead his eyes widened in shock as he stared at something behind her. "No!" he shouted.

Sara turned as a length of fabric ripped from the bottom of the curtain wrapped itself around her throat, cutting off her oxygen.

And now she could see it. Or rather, she could see something. It was as though whatever she was looking at was so horrible that her mind refused to process the image because if she could really see whatever it was she was looking at she might cease to function completely, and she heard a voice like nails on her brain:

"Hello Sara. Do you still think you can catch me?"

Terror filled her. She was going to die, she knew it, and her desperate mind fumbled for something, anything. Words from long ago flowed back to her, and she mouthed them because she lacked the air to speak.

'Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name… Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil… Deliver us from evil…'

Grissom slammed open the door to the Child Serivces office.

"No!" he cried, a shout of pure desperation.

Sara was lying on the floor, thick fabric wrapped chokingly tight around her throat, and Grissom could see _something _sitting astride her chest.

Behind him, the priest also cried out.

"In the Name of God, begone!"

The thing, whatever it was, seemed to turn its attention towards them, and Grissom heard the priest begin chanting in Latin the words of the Ritual of Exorcism, essentially unchanged for hundreds of years.

Even as supernatural battle raged around him, he raced to Sara, dropping to his knees beside her.

"Sara!"

With trembling hands he reached out to unbind the fabric from around her throat, then leaned down to rest his cheek an inch from her lips. She was breathing, and, for the first time in years, Gil Grissom breathed a prayer of his own.

"Thank God."


	11. Somewhere Else

**Albert**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI, nor any other works which may bear a resemblance, intentional or otherwise, to this work.

**Rating:** T

**A/N:** I have a flatmate called Alberto. He is a very nice guy, and bears absolutely no resemblance whatsoever to 'Albert'.

**Chapter 11: Somewhere Else**

"Emily!"

"Yes, mom?"

"What did you do to my good china?"

"It wasn't me mom, honest. It was Albert."


End file.
